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More seats to and from Vietnam |
More foreign airlines are putting their support behind growing air
capacity to and from Vietnam, showing their confidence in the
destination.
Thai Airways announced it will add one flight on its Bangkok-Ho Chi
Minh City schedule from October, bringing the total number of Thai
flights to the city to 17 and to Vietnam to 31. Nond Kalinta,
general manager of the carrier in Vietnam said the airline was
optimistic about growth in both the inbound and outbound sectors.
He said Thai was “looking for a year-on-year increase of 15
per cent in seat occupancy in Vietnam this year”, adding that
air traffic in Vietnam would take “sharp growth” this
year. AirAsia is also preparing to launch its Kuala-Lumpur to Ho
Chi Minh City service this year, in order to meet growing demands
after the success of its Kuala-Lumpur to Hanoi and Bangkok to Hanoi
daily services. In response, Malaysia Airlines said it will
increase capacity on its routes, utilising bigger aircraft on its
existing Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City services,
totalling 23 flights per week. The airline’s General Manager,
Terence Krish Swampillai, said it will adopt changes when the
market is ready. “The market is big enough for Malaysia
Airlines and we are looking at increasing our capacity,” he
said. He said the airline has posted a 20 to 30 per cent increase
in passenger numbers year on year, with forecasts looking even
better for 2008. “We expect to see more growth next
year,” he said. Booking agents are expecting air traffic to
grow 30 per cent this year, after Vietnam attracted more than 12
million air passengers in 2006. “Now is the time for more
airlines to join the market, especially after the new terminal was
opened at Tan Son Nhat Airport,” Mr Kalinta said. Thai
Airways and Malaysia Airlines are part of the foreign airlines that
will move its check-in counters to the new terminal at the end of
the month, a week after its soft opening.
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